Grocery Innovations Canada's Live@home 2021 event was a great way for SAS to get a foot in the door, and create some dialogue within the retailer space. After only a year operating in Canada, SAS Retail Services has acquired a seat at the Canadian retailers' table. Along with the new products showcased, there were some interesting presentations.
One such presentation titled: "Uniquely Ours", Harold Lloyd discussed the creation of "mini departments" within stores that could become powerful customer attractions and increase the experiential shopping feeling within grocery environments. He presented 40 ideas, stores only need to apply a few and they would already be on their way to creating experiences that are unique. Below is an idea for creating excitement around the grab-and-go sandwich. 

Other presentations focused on the labour shortage in Canada and provided ideas on how to improve recruiting and retention in the grocery space. One of our favourite quotes from the event was "Bottles, boxes, cans, and jars day after day is mind-numbing, we need to create memorable moments for our teams and give them something to look forward to." ~ Harold Lloyd.
"There are a lot of exciting new products, technologies, and business opportunities that have come through even with the pandemic. This technology also includes the ability to partake in a tradeshow via online platforms. Without these advancements, we would not have been able to have such a successful tradeshow experience... It was, overall, an informative event, and I believe it really aided in getting our name [SAS Retail Services Canada] out to potential retailers in the market."
-Sabrina Bulfon, SAS Retail CAN Manager
Even though there was a primary focus on Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG,) this year's event saw many retailers searching the virtual floor for technological support. And, SAS' presence secured not only a name for retailers to turn to, but was successful in securing a relationship with one of Canada's grocery retailers.
Time and time again, it comes back to the shopper/customer experience... When we look to that and satisfy that, everyone wins. Our innovations in our service offerings and our SAS ReboticsTM technology help retailers do that."
- Anita Baldwinson, SAS Retail Marketing Director
With local being such a hot topic these days, we loved this idea. This retailer showcases local products at their front-end and, the great thing is one of our services is to help retailers realize their own original experiential creations through resets and renovations.
